NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York state should require school personnel to get vaccinated — or get tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on her first day in office.
Hochul, 62, who replaced Andrew Cuomo as governor of New York at the stroke of midnight Tuesday, delivered her first address to New Yorkers Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to calling for the vaccine or testing mandate, Hochul also said she would direct the Department of Health to institute universal masking in schools.
New York will also overhaul its ethics, transparency and sexual harassment training, and consider reopening mass vaccination sites to administer COVID-19 booster shots, she said.
Hochul is the state's first female governor. She was sworn in in a brief, private ceremony shortly after midnight, before sharing remarks at a public swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning.
"This is an emotional moment for me, but it is one that I have prepared for," she said at the public ceremony. "And I am so looking forward to continuing the work we have to do."
Hochul spoke with President Joe Biden Monday night, in a call during which he "pledged his full support to my administration, and anything we need," she noted.
New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Monday night released Cuomo's resignation letter, which he submitted earlier in the evening, ahead of his 11:59 p.m. departure from office.
The short letter is addressed to Stewart-Cousins and Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl Heastie.
"I hereby tender my resignation for the office of Governor of the State of New York," Cuomo, 63, writes. "This resignation will be effective at 12:00 a.m., August 24, 2021. It has been my pleasure to serve with you both."
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